Prison term for crash that killed woman helping dog

The Steves family, Jonathan, Mara, Hannah and John, sent this photo out with holiday cards. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN STEVES

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Adam Harrison Hall. FILE

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Mara Steves, 48, was standing at an intersection trying to corral a stray dog when she was hit by an SUV and killed on Feb. 13, 2011, in Laguna Niguel. Adam Harrison Hall, of Placentia, was charged in the case. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT, IMAGE COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT

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Flowers, candles, stuffed animals and handwritten notes make up a memorial for Mara Steves, 48, who was standing near the intersection of Moulton Parkway and Nueva Vista trying to corral a stray dog when she was hit by an SUV Sunday Feb. 13, 2011. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Friends and family members brought Valentine's Day balloons, hearts and cards for Mara Steves, the Laguna Niguel woman who was trying to corral a stray dog when she was hit by an SUV Sunday Feb. 13, 2011. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Friends and relatives mourned the loss of Mara Steves at a sidewalk memorial in Laguna Niguel. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The Steves family, Jonathan, Mara, Hannah and John, sent this photo out with holiday cards. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN STEVES

SANTA ANA – A teary-eyed husband told a judge Friday that he lost his ability to enjoy life when his wife was killed by a driver with two earlier drunk-driving convictions who ran a red light and caused a chain-reaction crash in Laguna Niguel while under the influence of drugs.

"The light of my life has gone out and I am fumbling in the darkness," a weeping John Steves told Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson during a sentencing hearing for Adam Harrison Hall, 29, of Placentia. Hall was convicted of second-degree murder in February for causing the 2011 crash that killed Mara Steves as she was out walking with a lost dog looking for its owner.

"It tears my heart apart knowing that my son and daughter will spend the rest of their lives without their mom's love and care," Steves said as he stood at a podium a foot away from where his teenage daughter sat crying in the courtroom gallery.

Steves was one of about a dozen speakers in Hanson's court Friday, split among the relatives and friends of the Steves family – who talked about enormous loss and pain – and the family and friends of Hall – who described him as kind, caring, smart, loyal, strong, polite and "a good man and friend."

Hall, 29, spoke on his own behalf and asked for mercy, redemption and forgiveness. He said he was "very, very, very sorry for the loss of Mrs. Steves," and said he wanted to honor her memory by trying to dissuade others from driving under the influence.

"The pain in the court is palpable," Hanson said after she listened to the emotional statements for more than two hours.

Hanson then sentenced Hall to 15 years to life for second-degree murder, plus two years for obtaining or possessing drugs secured by a forged prescription. "This didn't have to happen," the judge said.

Deputy District Attorney Troy Pino argued during the trial for a second-degree murder conviction under the "implied malice" legal theory – that Hall knew driving under the influence of drugs was dangerous by virtue of the warnings he received during his earlier DUI convictions in 2008, but chose to drive anyway.

Mara Steves, 48, was on the sidewalk near her home with a lost dog looking for its owner shortly after 11 a.m. Feb 13, 2011, when Hall ran a red light in a Ford SUV and crashed into a Toyota SUV passing through the intersection legally. The occupants of the Toyota, Steven James and Anna Gaffney, were injured in the crash: Gaffney suffered a fractured collarbone and James suffered severe bruising.

Hall's SUV then careened over the curb onto the sidewalk and slammed into Mara Steves. She died at the scene as her two children and her husband ran up to check on her. Hall also struck the dog, a Labrador retriever named Max, leaving a tire mark on the animal and requiring it to undergo emergency veterinary services.

At the time of the crash, Hall was under the influence of recreational and prescription drugs, including methamphetamine, Diazepam, Alprazolam, Hydroxyalprazolam, Oxazepam, Temazepam, amphetamine and morphine, according to prosecutors.

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